Inclusive Food Systems

Bangladesh: Nobo Jatra
World Vision’s Nobo Jatra Resilience Food Security Activity project, funded by the U.S. government and implemented in southwest Bangladesh with Winrock International and World Food Programme, worked with more than 60,000 smallholder farmers to strengthen the agri-business sector and improve household incomes. Using the Integrating Extremely Poor Producers into Markets field guide, Nobo Jatra facilitated partnerships among key national-level vegetable seed suppliers and agrodealers, retailers, and mobile seed agents. We worked with suppliers to address the limited access and use of inputs at the community level by holding farmer clinics within community markets, fostering farming as a business for smallholder farmers, and enabling market access through connections with national-level vegetable aggregators. Through these efforts, farmer incomes grew by 45%. Farmers now have the ability to diversify their livelihoods by including commercial fruit farming and high-value commercial crops such as watermelons and sunflowers.

Ethiopia: SPIR
The Strengthening PSNP Institutions and Resilience (SPIR II) program is a five-year Resilience Food Security Activity funded by the U.S. government and implemented by a consortium led by World Vision, in partnership with CARE, ORDA Ethiopia, and IFPRI. Launched in 2021, SPIR II builds on the successes and lessons of SPIR I (2016–2021), which laid a strong foundation by improving nutrition, livelihoods, and household resilience in food-insecure communities. Operating in the Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray regions, SPIR II works alongside the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) to improve food security, strengthen livelihoods, and build resilience for more than 615,000 rural Ethiopians.

At the heart of SPIR II is a robust food systems approach that goes beyond emergency food distribution to address the root causes of hunger and poverty. The program equips smallholder farmers and vulnerable households to sustainably produce, access, and consume nutritious food. Interventions include home gardening, sustainable land management, support for poultry and small livestock value chains, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and access to finance through Village Economic and Social Associations (VESAs). In FY24 alone, SPIR II distributed over 30,000 metric tons of food and helped more than 5,600 VESA members access $1.7 million in bank loans to invest in farming, small businesses, and household resilience. By integrating agriculture, financial inclusion, and behavior change, SPIR II is helping build inclusive, market-linked, and resilient local food systems — laying the groundwork for long-term self-reliance and sustainability.

Cambodia: CAST
The Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainable Trade (CAST) project (2019–2025), funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program in partnership with the American Soybean Association and other consortium members, built a resilient and market-driven locally farmed aquaculture system in Cambodia. CAST supported the Royal Government of Cambodia in establishing food safety standards laying the foundation for premium prices in upscale local markets, and increased commercialization revenue and trade of locally farmed fish.

World Vision played a key role in market systems development by strengthening value chain linkages —connecting hatcheries, fish producers, and buyers/distributors — while advancing agrifinance and food safety standards. As a result, Cambodian producers gained greater access to, and confidence in, capital for production assets and business expansion, while also producing high-quality locally farmed fish handled in line with improved food safety practices.

Explore stories, insights, and lessons from our staff and partners working to strengthen inclusive agrifood systems around the world.

• • Community Actions, Levers of Change: Reorienting More Inclusive and Resilient Local Food Systems
  • Role of Inclusive Market Systems Development in Promoting Resilience: Evidence from World Vision Projects
  • The Importance of Food Safety for Sustaining Inclusive, Nutritious Food and Market Systems